


the disappearance of popsicle kid

by vonseal



Series: wanna be your superhero [4]
Category: ASTRO (Band)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Superheroes/Superpowers, Brief mention of myungjin, Fluff, HAPPY BIRTHDAY ASHA MY LOVE, Kidnapping, M/M, Romance, and brief mention of binu
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-02-02
Updated: 2018-02-02
Packaged: 2019-03-12 16:44:37
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,384
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/13551453
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/vonseal/pseuds/vonseal
Summary: minhyuk was going to retire from superhero business before it gave him an early onslaught of gray hairs.





	the disappearance of popsicle kid

**Author's Note:**

  * For [sarangway](https://archiveofourown.org/users/sarangway/gifts).



> I WANT TO WISH MY LOVELY [@ASHA](http://www.chanight.tumblr.com) THE HAPPIEST BIRTHDAY EVER! I HOPE YOU LIKE THIS!

“Hey, Minhyuk?”

“Hm?”

Minhyuk felt a weight on his back, careful and gentle and yet very prevalent. He shifted his body, allowing the younger boy hovering over him to lay down and drape himself across Minhyuk. It wasn't uncomfortable in the slightest; it was warm, reassuring, and Minhyuk tried – unsuccessfully – to hide a smile into his hands.

“Do you ever get tired of being a superhero?”

It was a common question, one Minhyuk asked himself countless times (one he had remembered asking Jinwoo over and over again). It was one that Minhyuk had yet to find the answer to, and he attempted to shrug his shoulders. It didn't translate very well physically, not with Sanha on top of him, so he added, “I've thought about it. I'm not really sure. Why? Do _you_ get tired of me being a superhero?”

Sanha scoffed, as if the question was ridiculous, and then wrapped his long arms around Minhyuk's torso, burying his nose into Minhyuk's neck and taking a deep breath. “No. But sometimes I wonder what it would be like if you didn't have lightning bolts that shoot out from your hands.”

“I wouldn't be able to stop bad guys.”

“Yeah.”

“And I wouldn't be able to protect you, Sanha.”

Sanha rolled off of Minhyuk's back, settling in next to him and peering over with serious eyes. “You could just use pepper spray, like a normal person would.”

“But would it be as cool, Sanha? And, honestly, if I'm facing off against a larger group of people, I'd much rather have a defense that _doesn't_ require me to get close to each person individually and spray them in the face.” Minhyuk wrote down the answer to a homework problem he was working on, then glanced over at Sanha and smiled brightly.

Sanha always made him smile. He was tall and clumsy, too many limbs and too little coordination. He had a baby face, with chubby, rosy cheeks, a small, button nose, and lips that were too pouty for his own good. He still wore braces and his voice still cracked and he squealed more often than not.

He was beautiful and wonderful and perfect, and Minhyuk was filled with adoration for him that grew more with each passing day.

He leaned over and planted a kiss on Sanha's forehead, causing the boy to blush brilliantly. “Mi-Minhyuk!” Sanha started, rubbing at the affected spot, but Minhyuk simply giggled.

“Are you worried about me, Sanha?”

“No!”

“I think you _are_ worried about me.”

Sanha groaned and flopped onto his side, face laying next to Minhyuk's heavy math textbook. “I have every right to be worried!” he finally admitted, confirming Minhyuk's suspicions. “My boyfriend is a _superhero_. I don't know if you've seen Spiderman-”

“I have.”

“-but he gets hurt a _lot_ , and he gets into so many dangerous situations, and what if that happens to _you?_ ”

Minhyuk could shrug his shoulders this time, and he did so before returning back to his work. “I don't look at it that way,” he said. “I mean, I've been in dangerous situations already. So have _you_. But as long as we're able to defend ourselves just fine, I don't see an issue with trying to make the world a little bit better of a place.”

Sanha hoisted himself back up on his elbows. “Yeah, but, do you _want_ to be a superhero for the rest of your life?”

“I figured I could actually be one of those wise, old superheroes who nurtures a younger superhero into the lifestyle, and then I will retire knowing that the city is still well-protected.” Minhyuk kissed Sanha again, this time on the top of his head, and his boyfriend shrieked and rolled out of Minhyuk's reach.

(Minhyuk grabbed him still, held him down and kissed every inch of his face, relishing in all of Sanha's giggles and squeals, and he decided he would like to retire early on and spend the rest of his life providing kisses to Sanha.)

 

Sanha lived on the opposite side of town. He lived somewhere nice, with two cars parked in the driveway and a nice front yard where he had learned how to play soccer. It was vastly different from Minhyuk's shared home with Jinwoo, a tiny apartment with a broken air condition unit and a constant stack of bills that Jinwoo artfully juggled paycheck to paycheck.

They lived separate lives, but when they met up each morning at school, all of that was forgotten. Minhyuk would hold Sanha's hand, and Sanha would grin widely, offering a cheery, “Morning, Hyuk!” as he led them both into the school building. They would have to depart from each other rather quickly after they stepped inside, Sanha being a year younger and taking completely different courses. Lunch was the only other shared time together throughout the day, and Minhyuk looked forward to it even in the early morning hours.

So when Sanha didn't show up one morning, Minhyuk felt lost.

He was certain he looked lost, too. He wandered down the hallway to his locker, feeling a little numb inside, his hand gripping at the phone that he kept constantly checking.

He received no messages from Sanha at all, no matter how many times he texted his boyfriend. He called once or twice (maybe five times), and it was sent to voicemail every single time, as well. It was awful, and when Minhyuk sat down for lunch by himself, at the end of a table and without the usual presence of sunshine by his side, he wanted to cry.

In math class, finally, a text came through; oddly enough, it was from Myungjun.

_[FROM DUST HYUNG:] is sanha there_

Minhyuk blinked at the offending message, and at Myungjun's unusual lack of emoticons, before responding.

_[TO DUST HYUNG:] no. he wont answer me. do you know where he is?_

The next reply didn't come for another ten minutes. Minhyuk waited anxiously, squirming in his seat and attracting the attention of his nearby classmates, who all sent him rather exasperated looks.

He was about to give up on waiting, about to call Myungjun and demand information, when his phone vibrated again.

_[FROM DUST HYUNG:] can you skip class and come home. jinwoo needs to talk to you_.

Minhyuk felt his heart drop in his stomach.

Jinwoo would _never_ allow Myungjun to ask Minhyuk to skip class. Even while fighting terribly evil villains, Jinwoo's number one rule was that Minhyuk attend every single class he had. Aside from that, Myungjun never called Jinwoo by his real name. It was always _Turtle Boy_ or _Jinny_ or, more recently, _Jin Boo-Boo_ (and Minhyuk couldn't figure out _that_ one). Using _Jinwoo_ meant something serious was going on-

And that something serious seemed to be connected to Sanha's disappearance.

Minhyuk wasted no time. He lied to his teacher, mentioning needing to use the toilet, and he managed to escape school completely undetected. He ran home, feet pounding along the pavement, various scenarios floating through his mind about Sanha's whereabouts and current status and _what if, what if, what if_.

He made it home in record time, breathing harshly, his chest feeling as if it was on fire and his heart beating loudly against his ribs. Myungjun sat on the couch, worried, and Jinwoo was already dressed in his superhero outfit, pacing the living room slightly and staring down at his phone.

“Jinwoo?” Minhyuk questioned, voice small and scared as he inched forward. “Jinwoo, what happened to Sanha?”

Jinwoo didn't glance up. He sighed loudly before meeting Myungjun's gaze. “Sanha, um,” he started, but then seemed to give up explaining any of it. He simply tossed Minhyuk his phone and pulled his mask on as Minhyuk looked down at the message that was pulled up.

It was a picture message from an unknown number. Jinwoo had tagged most of the major villains down, noting which numbers they called from and naming them accordingly in his phone. This was just digits, no name at all, which was a surefire sign of a new villain.

Minhyuk scrolled down, past the initial information, and then gasped.

Included was a photo of Sanha, blindfolded and tied down to a chair.

“Where is this?” Minhyuk asked, hands shaking as he gripped the phone. “J-Jinwoo, where is he?”

Jinwoo shrugged helplessly, finally sitting down next to Myungjun and grasping at one of his hands. “I'm not sure,” he admitted quietly. “I sent the image to Dark Moon. He's trying to look for any clues in the photo, just to see if it's a super villain base. I don't know who else it could be, considering he knows _us_ well enough to kidnap Sanha.”

All Minhyuk could think was how scared Sanha must be, how _hurt_ he _might_ be, all alone in a dark location with a super villain taunting him, possibly torturing him, for information. He only thought how it all must be _his_ fault, because if he wasn't a superhero, there would be no need for super villains to target Sanha.

“Wha-What do we do?” Minhyuk stammered, looking up from his phone at the concerned expressions of his two best friends. “We have to help him.”

“We're waiting for Dark Moon,” Jinwoo responded. “He said he'll call back in a few minutes.”

“I'll change, then.”

Even if the superhero charade had gotten Sanha into that mess in the first place, at least Minhyuk could rest easy knowing the superhero charade would get Sanha _out_ of it. He rushed down the hallway to his bedroom and snatched the outfit from his closet, his jaw tight and his blood boiling.

He was going to kill whoever had taken Yoon Sanha.

 

Dark Moon had pinpointed out a warehouse on his call with Jinwoo.

(“It's the most stereotypical villain spot ever!” Dark Moon had complained as he texted the address. “See, I'm a classy villain. I prefer candlelit dinners and walks on the beach. Speaking of, have I told you about my date with that banker-”

Minhyuk understood why they weren't friends.)

It _did_ look stereotypical of a villain's lair. Minhyuk had rescued one too many hostages from places like these, usually fighting off villains that weren't necessarily strong, but had enough men to back them up that it became a bit of a hassle at times. They almost always had their demands, too; typically someone was looking to pick off superheroes, or sometimes it was just a desperate, useless plea for money.

Jinwoo seemed to be thinking the same thing, and as they arrived at the front door, he murmured, “Since this villain didn't ask for money, I'm assuming it's an ambush of some sorts. So what I think we need to do-”

Jinwoo always had good plans. Jinwoo had _great_ plans, in fact, and Minhyuk was almost always very willing to listen to whatever it was that Jinwoo had to say. However, right _then_ , when Sanha was inside, still tied up in his chair, still blindfolded, still scared and alone, was the worst of times to listen to any sort of plan. Minhyuk was infuriated someone had stolen his boyfriend and used him as bait. Minhyuk wanted to find Sanha, save him, and then hunt down the villain who had caused poor Sanha so much grief.

So he pushed Jinwoo aside and flung the doors open himself. He ignored Jinwoo's gasp, his cry of, “Minhyuk, wait!” and he rushed inside the warehouse.

He supposed Jinwoo was following. He could hear his footsteps, in any case, a little further away, but Minhyuk wasn't about to stop in order to allow Jinwoo the chance to play catch-up. He hurried along, peeking into the first room he passed, but finding no one.

“Sanha?!” he called out, his voice echoing in the empty building. “Sanha, where are you?!”

There was no answer. In fact, other than himself and Jinwoo, it didn't even sound as if there was anyone inside of the building. There were no other footsteps, no other voices, and no other _people_.

Minhyuk raised his voice. He heard Jinwoo behind him shushing him frantically, but Minhyuk felt an immense fear course through his body, and he sprinted down the hallway, pushing open a few doors and screaming out his boyfriend's name.

He finally heard something; a door. It came from behind him, and his initial thought was that Jinwoo must be checking out some of the rooms Minhyuk ran past. He glanced back and stumbled when he saw Sanha's head poking out from one of the rooms. His eyes fell on Jinwoo first, and he had the audacity to grin. “Hi, Jinjin!”

Minhyuk spun around and ran forward, pushing Jinwoo aside once more in order to reach out for Sanha. He grasped onto his boyfriend, pulling at his clothes and holding him close, his breath still coming out harshly and his eyes beginning to water as fear and exhaustion caught up with him.

“Sanha, o-oh my _god_ , Sanha, Sanha, are you alright? What happened? I-I thought I lost you, Sanha, what _happened_ , Sanha?”

Sanha's name was a mantra, a reminder that he was alive and well, held tightly in Minhyuk's arms (hugging just as tightly back). He didn't appear harmed in the slightest; maybe a little shaken, maybe a little nervous, but he was still smiling and still embracing Minhyuk with every fiber of his being.

Jinwoo brushed past them and glanced around the room, but Minhyuk only had eyes for Sanha. He pulled back ever so slightly, staring up at his boyfriend. His hair was messy and uncombed; probably unwashed, too, Minhyuk noted. One cheek was more red than the other, and when Minhyuk reached a hand up to touch it, Sanha just giggled lightly and, with one swift movement, leaned over and kissed Minhyuk's nose.

Sanha was usually so jumpy with kisses, finding them enthralling and exciting enough to scream about, but here he was, _delivering_ kisses and never once dropping the soft smile plastered onto his face.

“Sanha?” Minhyuk breathed out again. “What _happened?_ ”

Jinwoo had joined them again, sliding his mask down his face and staring worriedly, still, at the two younger boys. “Why's there a man tied to the chair, Sanha?” Jinwoo asked now, and Minhyuk was finally able to tear his eyes away from Sanha at that question.

“Why's there _what?_ ” Minhyuk asked.

He peered over Sanha's shoulder, standing on his tip-toes in order to do so, and realized Jinwoo was telling the truth. A man was tied in the chair – a similar one to what Minhyuk had seen in Sanha's hostage photo – and he wore a blindfold across his eyes – _exactly_ the same as Sanha had.

“Oh, this is a villain!” Sanha explained, and he gestured at the man. “He calls himself Wonder Boy, but-”

“ _You_ called me that,” the villain mumbled.

Sanha wasn't deterred. “He has no super powers, but he _did_ have a big knife, and he managed to take me while I was walking to school. I'm not going to say _no_ to someone brandishing their knife. Right, Minhyuk?”

“Right,” Minhyuk responded, a little dazed and confused at the current situation. “Why is _he_ tied there, though? I got a picture, an-and _you_ were tied there.”

“I didn't want to be tied there,” Sanha responded. “The blindfold _stinks_ , Hyuk. Smells like sweat. So I asked him to take it off, and he did. And once he took it off, I didn't stop talking, since he was obviously listening to me. I told him how amazing you were! I started with your superpowers, how you could turn him to lightning dust in an instant, and then I told him all about you! I talked about how smart you are, and how many muscles you have, and your favorite type of shoes. We came to an understanding through all the talking!”

“An...an understanding?”

“Well, he told me if I shut up, he wouldn't hurt me,” Sanha said, speaking so casually that Minhyuk could have forgotten Sanha was kidnapped and used as bait.

Jinwoo appeared perplexed. “But why is _he_ here?” he asked, repeating Minhyuk's original inquiry. “We thought – we thought _you_ were a hostage.”

“I was,” Sanha confirmed. “But I told him I needed to pee, and he told me he'd let me pee in the corner over there – which is _gross_ , by the way, right, Minhyuk?”

(Sanha didn't continue until Minhuk agreed.)

“I didn't have to pee, of course, so once he untied me, I just, um...” Sanha lowered his voice, bringing his hands up to cover his mouth, and whispered to Minhyuk, high-pitched and giggling, “I kicked his nuts.”

Minhyuk raised his eyebrows. “Seriously?”

“Don't be loud about it! He's embarrassed!”

Minhyuk didn't mind making the villain all the more embarrassed. “He had a big knife on him, and you managed to fight him off by kicking his _balls?_ ”

Sanha laughed, though he continued trying to shush Minhyuk.

(Minhyuk spared a glance at the villain, pleased to see a look of shame rising up on his face.)

“He dropped the knife when I kicked him. I think he was surprised. I managed to grab it, though, and I realized that _I_ was in charge, and I figured I could tie him up and then come find you.” Sanha grinned, directing Minhyuk's attention right back to him and seeming quite proud of his accomplishments. “Myungjun told me I might get in trouble sometimes, and he said the best defense is to kick someone in the nuts and then take control.”

“Weren't you scared?” Minhyuk asked – this was _Sanha_ , after all, the boy who couldn't watch horror movies with the rest of them, the one who slept with his lamp on, the one who refused to listen to ghost stories in fear it might all be true. Minhyuk couldn't believe that Sanha could take it all so easily.

Sanha hesitated before answering, finally giving a small nod of his head. “Yeah,” he murmured. He hugged Minhyuk close to him, burying his head into his neck, nodding once again. “I was _terrified_. But...but I didn't want you hurt, and I didn't want to make _you_ scared for my safety. If-if I fought against him, I thought, I would be able to make sure that nothing bad happened.”

“You could have gotten hurt.”

“I could have gotten hurt either way.” Sanha moved aside in order to let Jinwoo take care of the villain, to drag him up from the chair and force him outside, muttering something about the police arriving soon.

(Minhyuk didn't care too much what Jinwoo did – he had Sanha in his arms and he was going to stay right there.)

Minhyuk sighed, rubbing his hands up and down Sanha's back. “I'm going to retire from this lifestyle,” he said. “I'm going to just retire and live as a hermit with you where no one will ever harm you again. We can have this little home in the mountains and grow our own food and own twelve dogs-”

“I don't want you to retire!” Sanha exclaimed, planting a kiss on Minhyuk's ear. “I want to watch you save people like me, Hyuk. You have such cool powers, and you're _rescuing_ people, and I think that's the best.”

“I don't want to have to rescue my boyfriend, though! It shouldn't be like that!” Minhyuk was indignant, refusing to believe he would have to continue in this sort of lifestyle of constantly saving Sanha from trouble. He didn't mind, necessarily, the act of _saving_ Sanha – he just minded knowing that their relationship put Sanha in danger.

But Sanha just giggled and said, “And _I_ don't want to be saved by anyone but you.”

One day, Minhyuk decided, he was definitely going to retire. He would buy his stupid mountain house with a stupid garden and all the stupid dogs.

For now, though, with Sanha in his arms, Minhyuk decided on a different goal.

“Instead of saving you, how about I protect you?” he asked in a hushed voice.

Sanha seemed to agree, if the small peck Minhyuk's lips received were any indication of that.

One day he would retire, but today, the most important job was to protect Yoon Sanha.

And that was something Minhyuk was sure he could excel at.

 

**Author's Note:**

> pls go wish her a happy birthday, either on her [tumblr](http://www.chanight.tumblr.com) or her [a03](https://archiveofourown.org/users/sarangway/pseuds/sarangway) (she writes amazing fics). <3333


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